breaking news tonight, live, north carolina. a little 5-year-old girl vanishes without a trace. from the child's own home. mommy tells police she left the girl on the sofa, 5:30 a.m., one hour later the baby's gone. how does a 5-year-old go missing from her own sofa? the child wearing nothing but a t-shirt and underwear. shaniya's favorite blanket found discarded, covered in feces in the neighbor's trash. after graining surveillance video surfaces of a 29-year-old man, carrying the child in a local hotel room, the search for baby shaniya comes to an end.

police find her little body hidden in dense woods. the man in the video, mario mcneill, confesses to taking shaniya to the hotel but then clams up. in a heart-wrenching and disgusting twist, shaniya's own mother behind bars for selling the little girl for sex. was 5-year-old shaniya's life nothing more than a payment on a drug debt? reports emerge mommy owed mcneill money. and speaking of mcneill, why is he walking free? able to the take the little girl in the first place? he's got a wrap sheet a mile long including shooting several people, one in the head and neck. dope charges, of course. and running over a cop? why wasn't he behind bars instead of checking into a hotel with a 5-year-old little girl? bombshell tonight, we are waiting for a live press

conference. we also learned search warrants just released reveal 11 bags of evidence seized from this man, mario mcneill's car. and tonight, we learn high-tech soil samples may i.d. the killer. right now, to the presser live. >> while we have worked through a very difficult and complex issue surrounding this case. second, after careful consideration, it's been determined that jurisdiction for prosecution of this case will remain in cumberland county. at this time i would like to advise you that earlier this evening members of the shaniya davis task force received confirmation from the state medical's examiner's office on the ruling on the manner of the death of shaniya davis as a homicide. the preliminary tests results

affixiation as the cause of death. however at that time, all examinations and testing have not been completed. therefore, a final report has not been issued. earlier today, we met with the district attorney, ed grantis, market russ and after going over some facts of the case, the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill. first-degree murder, first-degree rape of a child. the criminal investigation's surrounding this unfortunate tragedy continues as the task force follows up on many numerous leads and gathers additional information pertaining to the investigation. as such in an effort to protect the integrity of the investigation and not jeopardize the criminal prosecution of any pending charges, we will not

discuss many details of the investigation. it is our sincere hope that the davis family may now begin to put this horrific event behind them and begin the healing process. i would like to take a moment to thank mr. grantis, ms. susan doyle of the lee county district attorney's office. and two gentlemen standing behind me, captain charles kimball and captain marge bridgman as they have headed up this task force for the last eight days and will continue to do so until we get where we need to be. >> how about ms. davis? >> we're still -- we're still currently doing an investigation. i have no comment on that. >> can you say the relationship between mr. mcneill and ms. davis' sister?

rumor, the trailer. how all of that puts together. >>. >> no comment at this time. >> chief, could you just tell us where the young girl was killed? fayetteville, lee county? have you been able to point that down? >> due to the cause of death, that's a hard point to narrow down right now. >> you think it was at the motel or out on the field? >> no, we don't believe that it was at the hotel. >> what do you think the purpose of the 911 call to your offices were -- was some 45 minutes after he took to the hotel? >> that's a manner of -- still being under -- still being investigated and we've got numerous phone records and messages and things of that nature that we're currently investigating and going through. >> are additional charges going to be fired against antoinette davis. >> this is still an ongoing process, an ongoing case and we've got numerous folks from the local, state and federal

level working with us on this case. >> any other suspects? >> as i said we're continuing to investigate. no comment on that at this time. >> chief, are you looking at -- [ inaudible question ] in this investigation? >> no comment. >> chief, the possibility of the 911 call it was a rouse to hide the back of the body? >> i will not comment at this time. >> you said in your investigation you said yesterday that it was going down, one of the avenues that you were looking at is that ms. davis had let mr. mcneill take this child in turn poor because she owed him a debt, money. can you say -- >> the current charges on ms. davis are standing as they are right now. >> okay. >> chief, after mcneill's arrested for kidnapping, your department said that he'd admitted to kidnapping. has he admitted the murder and

the rape too? >> right now we're serving warrants on him for that and we've got our two lead detectives serving warrants on mr. mcneill at this time. i have no comment on that. and -- >> get a couple of personal questions, maybe. i know those of us who covered the media covered you guys for a long time. this is probably one of the most horrific cases that you've had to take. what kind of toll does it take on your officer? >> quite a bit. we're fortunate in our department. we have some folks active chaplains and we've been having some grief counseling here in the police department. and i really can't say enough about the fortitude and the hard work and everything that's been done, not only by all of law enforcement agency but, really, the surrounding law enforcement,

rescue. this one has really reached out and touched a lot of folks. >> you could tell if your guys? >> absolutely. and i have to tell you these two guys standing behind me they did a fantastic job. >> could you get some thoughts from the two gentlemen? >> absolutely. >> in terms of how tough it's been. >> give us your name foo f you don't mind too. >> captain charles kimball. >> and your thoughts on this case and how tough it's been for you and fellow officers? >> it's been a tough case. a lot of the people on the task force here, the police department, we are children so we can relate to some of the -- how tough it is going day to day. going at home look at our children and knowing what happened to shaniya. we know it was a tragedy. but we remain professional and we know we had a job to do and we did it. >> on a personal level, charles, what was the hardest part from day one? >> we had a mission. our mission was to find shaniya

and we did. >> some of your officers said they cried. >> it was tough. it was tough. that's a reality. >> the toughest case you've been on? >> yes, it has. >> how long have you been. >> i've been here 14 years. >> good evening. mark bridgman. been on the job here 23 -- or correction, 22 1/2 years. i don't want to advance myself any further than i have. tough case. had no idea. i led the -- worked with lee county emergency management services. and had no idea how many people became emotionally attached to this case. captain kimball and i attended a critical incident stress debriefing the night before last. and it got really emotional, for not only us, but for the search teams, the ems, everybody involved. and it's still emotional. it's still up and down.

so you know it's one of those things, the hardest thing i've ever had to do in my career and i've seen a lot of stuff. >> why do you think this is getting under your skin and everybody else's skin? >> that's a really good question. probably the -- you know the loss of the innocent. >> do you know -- have you determined if this is part of some type of it's human trafficking charge, speculated that maybe there's some time human trafficking ring and operation in this area? >> that's -- i'm not going to comment on that. >> personally, as a veteran lawman, you've been on some tough cases before. >> sure. >> what was going through your mind when you looked at mario mcneill and you realized, you raped and murdered that little girl. >> well, you have to remain professional, no doubt. you know it's just -- you can't figure out why. in this job, we respond. we don't create these situations. we react to them. and it's, you know, you could

drive yourself crazy trying to figure out why would someone do this to an innocent girl. the best thing we could do is work with the professional law enforcement community, the d.a.'s office and bring mr. mcneill and ms. davis to swift and certain justice. >> we had heard that you guys fought tooth and nail to have this case tried here in fayetteville. >> chuck was working with that with mr. grantis office. >> greg, i got to tell you something. we had conversations the last day or two with mr. grantis and his staff, ms. doyle and her staff. and i've got to tell you, just fine leadership. fine leadership. and you know what, there was no fighting. nothing like that. true professionalism. and i think as mark stated, you

know this case here has reached out and touched all of us. and i just can't say enough good things about the leadership from those -- from those folks. >> well, i didn't mean fighting tooth but you stressed. how bad that you wanted this case? >> well, let's just say i think from our perspective and i can speak for these folks and the task force folks, we started it from the beginning and we wanted to finish it out. >> what would you say -- one last comment to the folks in fayetteville about this whole ordeal, this whole tragedy? >> well, i was asked a question yesterday. you know there's a lot of causes of crime out here in the community. there's not really one big answer to alleviate crime. but i got to tell you, i think really now is the time for

finger-pointing, arguing, things like that to stop. and collectively, as a city, as a county, as a community, we've got to really work hard at looking at the issues. be able to look each other in the eyes, tell us the truth and really get down to solving a lot of these social problems that get us in these situations that we get in and you know keep us busy and keep you guys busy. and to me and to this department, that's real important. that's very important. >> [ inaudible question ] the legal system. >> probably tomorrow morning. it would be a first appearance. or tomorrow some time. okay, folks, thank you very much. i do appreciate it. >> thank you all for coming out. and just a reminder as this is an ongoing investigation there

is no interview to be granted and -- >> you are seeing the end of a fayetteville police department press conference announcing murder one charges against mario mcneill. picture there on your screen in the murder, we now know, cause of death asphyxiation. the strangling or suffocation death of 5-year-old shaniya. also tonight the bombshell, rape charges on this child, also leveled against mcneill. right now police are not saying whether the mother, who allegedly handed her child over for child prostitution, to this man, there she is antoinette davis. whether she will also be charged with murder. but they are very carefully stating this is an ongoing investigation. we are taking your calls live and we'll be right back.

members of the shaniya davis task force received confirmation from the state medical's examiner's office on the ruling, on the manner of the death of shaniya davis as a homicide. the preliminary tests results, asphyxiation as the cause of death. however, at this time, all examinations and testing have not been completed, therefore, a final report has not been issued.

we met with the district attorney, ed grantis, margaret russ, and after going over some facts of the case, the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill. first-degree murder, first-degree rape of a child. the criminal investigation's surrounding this unfortunate tragedy continues as the task force follows up on many numerous leads and gathers additional information pertaining to the investigation. as such in an effort to protect the integrity of the investigation and not jeopardize the criminal prosecution of any pending charges, we will not discuss many details of the investigation. it is our sincere hope that the davis family may begin to put this horrific event behind them

and begin the healing process. >> that is chief of police fayetteville, north carolina, tom burgamine. just brought you out of a live conference that's going on right now. it has just ended. the chief of police has announced that formal charges have been filed against mario mcneill, the 29-year-old man, pickured in a hotel video with 5-year-old shaniya davis. we now know he is charged with first-degree murder and the rape of this child. this 5-year-old little girl. my question tonight is, why isn't mommy charged with murder one? according to police reports, she's the one who handed the child over to this killer. we are taking your calls live. to jean casarez joining us. jean, what can you tell me? what will it take for a charge on mommy? >> reporter: well, she can definitely be charged and under north carolina law, if she was an accessory before the fact an

accessory after the fact, the conspiracy situation. she doesn't have to have been actively involved in killing the child. >> jean casarez, please, i don't want to hear any legal talk. break it down. she handed her child over to a killer for pete's sake. >> reporter: and we have to look at her knowledge. what did she know.

we've met with the district attorney, ed grantis, margaret russ. and after going over some facts of the case, the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill. first-degree murder. first-degree rape of a child. >> we are live there in north carolina, where police have just announced murder one charges against 29-year-old mario

adrette mcneill. the man that we have been showing you, hotel surveillance video in which he is carrying this 5-year-old little girl down a hall to a hotel room in which they say a little over an hour. there she is. that's the last known photo of this child alive in the arms of her alleged killer. also, charges tonight of child rape on this little girl. stunningly no murder charges against the mother, yet. the chief of police says this is an open investigation. we are taking your calls live. out to our first call. tanya, ohio. hi, tanya. >> caller: hi, nancy. i have a question and a comment. first i'd like to say, shame on these people that are coming forward now and saying, oh, well we saw cigarette burns and all of this on this poor little girl and did not get involved.

and say, you know, call the authorities and say something. also my question is, this mother was probably on welfare or some kind of aid to dependent children. why is there not a law in place for these welfare mothers -- why don't they have to take a drug test before they get a check and maybe some of this can be prevented and get these children out of these homes where they're being abused and neglected because of drugs? >> tanya in ohio, you are so right. before we hand over our tax money, okay, i would like to see a drug test run as well. now this mother antoinette davis had held down a job for about six months. that's the first i've known of her working. i also known, according to our sources, that drugs were being sold out of the home. mcneill has drug charges. we know tonight homicide, asphyxiation.

that could be ligature, manual strangulation or smothering. and also know toxicology testing, not complete. let's go straight out to mike brooks. former fed with the fbi. weigh in, mike. what does it say to you? why no charges against mommy tonight? >> i think they're waiting to put together the charges on her, nancy. because most likely it'll be first-degree murder. and there's a possibility she could face federal charges because of the human trafficking. >> mike brooks, i can only pray that she gets the same fate as mario mcneill.

members of the shaniya davis task force received confirmation from the state medical examiner's office on the ruling -- on the manner of the death of shaniya davis as a homicide. the preliminary tests results asphyxiation as the cause of death. however at that time, all examinations and testing have not been completed. therefore, a final report has not been issued.

we met with the district attorney ed grantis, margaret russ. and after going over some facts of the case, the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill -- first-degree murder, first-degree rape of a child. the criminal investigation's surrounding this unfortunate tragedy continues as the task force follows up on many numerous leads and gathers additional information pertaining to the investigation. as such in an effort to protect the integrity of the investigation and not jeopardize the criminal prosecution of any pending charges, we will not discuss many details of the investigation. it is our sincere hope that the davis family may now begin to put this horrific event behind them and begin the healing process.

. >> ms. davis had let mr. mcneill take this child in turn for -- because she owed him a debt, money. can you say -- >> the current charges on ms. davis are standing as they are right now. >> okay. >> chief, after mcneill's first arrested for kidnapping, your department said that he'd admitted the kidnapping. has he admitted the murder and the rape too? >> right now we're serving warrants on him for that and we've got our two lead detectives serving warrants on mr. mcneill at this time. >> as we go to air, murder one warrant's being served on 29-year-old mario adrette mcneill. the man that we have been showing you carrying little 5-year-old shaniya davis into a local hotel room. stayed a little over an hour and left with her still alive.

her body found in a densely wooded area. we now know, as in the last few moments, cause of death is asphyxiation. we also know testing not complete. was the child drugged or poisoned in any way? was she fed drugs or alcohol? we are waiting to find out. we also know that this man, mario adrette mcneill, he's got a wrap sheet as long as the interstate, is now charged with child rape on this 5-year-old little girl. we heard the chief of police tom bergamine tell us that right now the charges against mommy stand as they are. she has not been charged with murder, yet. however, many of us in law enforcement believe that those charges may very well come. we are taking your calls live. first, unleash the lawyers. joining us out of new york, defense attorney, joey jackson out of atlanta. defense attorney, randy kessler.

welcome, gentlemen. kessler, why no murder charge on mommy? she handed her child over, according to charges, for this child to be put into prostitution. a 5-year-old girl, kessler. that's a felony. this is a felony murder. she, according to police, committed a murder and a death occurred. she didn't have to plan the murder for her to be charged with felony murder. >> it's coming. and i can't imagine that they're thinking maybe there's a state's evidence, maybe she'll have something because they don't have mcneill good enough. it sounds like they've got locked in. >> put kessler back up. >> i agree. >> kessler, you have tried many cases. they don't need this mom's "cooperation." i think she's done plenty. they don't need her to role over on mcneill. >> maybe she'll be desperate enough to start talking, talking, talking. they don't need her i agree. >> too much talking. joe, joe jackson, i agree with something that kessler just said. they don't need mommy's

cooperation to prove this case. listen. listen, jackson. listen to what they've got. they took 11 bags of evidence out of mario adrette mcneill's car.rprints. they found child's blankets. they got dna. come on, he's already confessed to the kidnapping. he's now charged with murder one and she handed the baby over for sex. a 5 year -- do you vey child, joe jackson? >> i certainly do. one who i love very much. >> age, age? >> 11 years old. >> can you even imagine -- >> not at all. >> -- handing your baby over to this -- this -- let me just say, freak. he already had charges of shooting three people. one in the neck and head. drug charges. he ran over -- >> but here's the problem, nancy. >> -- runs over a cop and she gives her fweeb him. >> here's the problem but it's not necessarily that she knew this person's background. >> doesn't have do. >> i know. >> he dated her sister. >> we would all believe and we would all hope that they're

responsible people amongst us. oftentimes there's not. >> jackson, put him up. put him up. mr. jackson, where did you go to law school? >> the big "h," hofstra. >> okay. >> the harvard of long island. >> mr. jackson, as in a felony murder, if you can imagine this scenario. just imagine you and mr. kessler going into a bank to rob it. >> right. >> you don't plan to kill anybody but kessler pulls his gun and guns down a bank teller. you sir, can be charged with felony murder. is that correct? >> it's absolutely correct but here's the -- >> then that same principle applies here, does it not. >> it would apply if the facts support your theory, nancy. here's what i'm saying. first of all the fact that they say there's a kidnapping, we don't know. it is an ongoing investigation. maybe if this is for a debt, she said listen, hold onto my child. i swear i'll pay you. i'll do what i have to do. >> put him back up. put him back up. >> so the fact of the matter is that maybe she didn't have ill intent. maybe it was not that, listen, you know, eye mean no -- she could be accused of bad

judgment. her judgment was misplaced. she's certainly ignorant in doing anything like that but to have the reck wisit and intent and to suggest that she was giving her child and that it was a kidnapping and she's a murderer i think that's misplaced and we have to understand that. >> no, that's not my theory at all. you have completely misinterpreted it. and misrepeated it for your own purposes. to dr. bethany marshall. here is what i know. police have charged the mother, antoinette davis, with handing her baby over to be raped for child prostitution. we know that is police theory. if she did that, that is a felony. if a death occurred, she is guilty of felony murder. does it make sense tour, bethany? >> well -- and this may not had been to pay back a drug debt. maybe she manipulated the baby's daddy's so she could gain control of the child. because someone made her believe

she could make thousands of dollars off of selling her child. or worse yet, perhaps she wanted to abuse the little boy -- the little girl along with mario. perhaps this poor little girl was sodomized 'perhaps that's there was feces on the door handle and the railing. >> and that's more of the evidence that we have tonight as the evidence unfolds, we learn 11 bags, 11 bags of evidence, taken out of mario mcneill's car alone. how much was taken out of the mother's home? we know dna, fingerprints, children's blankets. we know that feces, likely this child's, was smeared on the door handle and the railing going along the front porch. that's what we know about the evidence so far. we know this child died of asphyxiation and her body without pants was found in a densely wooded area. i want to go to special guest marc klaas. president and founder klaaskids

foundation. marc, our worst fears have been confirmed tonight. >> they certainly have, nancy. and i think the question i have. well it's not even a question. listen forecast fundamental duty of government is public safety, then government has failed the citizens of north carolina. mario mcneill has a heinous, vial and violent criminal history that extends back to the new millennium and yet she was allowed on the streets of what is called unsupervised probation. now, the state's spokesman say, well, he's fulfilled his obligation to the state. he's been a good prisoner. but the reality is that the state has failed in its obligation to the citizens of north carolina and more specifically to the davis family and shaniya davis. in california we have a very controversial law called the three strikes law that draws a line in the sand.

and it says that if you cannot abide by the rules of government of law, then you will spend the rest of your life in prison. and that's where this guy should had been a long time ago. >> everyone, we'll all be right back. we're bringing you the very latest from north carolina, as felony murder charges handed down against mario mcneill in the death and the rape of 5-year-old shaniya davis. but as we go to break, there is happiness. here's the n.g. family album. believe me after a case like this, i'm going to go home and love these twins. i hope i don't wake them up. here they are. this is shortly after their birth in new york. and now family photos of our show friends, colorado friends barbara, sheryl. best friends since high school. they never miss a show. florida friends, brian and francis. here they are at spring vacation at a park on the kentucky side of the ohio river.

and we met with the district

attorney, ed grantis, margaret russ. and after going over some facts of the case, the fayetteville will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill -- first-degree murder. first-degree rape of a child. >> could you just tell us where the young girl was killed? fayetteville? lee county? have you been able to point that -- narrow that down. >> due to the cause of death, that's a hard point to narrow down right now. >> you think it was at the motel or out in the field. >> no we don't believe that it was at the hotel. i really cannot say enough about the intestinal fortitude and the hard work and everything that's been done. not only by all of law enforcement agency but, really, the surrounding law enforcement,

rescue. this one has really reached out and touched a lot of folks. >> a tough one for your guys? >> absolutely. >> that is a live presser we just brought you out of north carolina. murder one charges handed down against mario mcneill. there he is, 29 years old. the one in the orange jumpsuit for the murder of this beautiful little 5-year-old little girl shaniya. also charged with child rape. mommy behind bars. but only on pimping the child out, putting her into human trafficking, as of yet she's not charged with murder. we're waiting for that charge to come down. let's go out to the lines. jean, ohio. hi, jean. >> caller: hi, nancy. >> hi, dear, what's your question? >> caller: first off, your babies are so cute. >> i am so blessed. >> caller: you are and you're an angel. you are an angel. >> and i've got to tell you, it makes it very, very difficult to cover stories like what has happened to little shaniya. >> caller: i know.

i know. >> because of everything that i can do not to jump out of this chair and not to run all the way home. what's your question, love? >> caller: okay. yeah, do you know if the father will be looking into any kind of charges on children's services or the schools for, you know -- >> excellent question. to the lawyers, randy kessler, joey jackson. the problem with that is dfcs is an arm of the government. the king can do no wrong, it's going to be difficult to prove anything against dfcs and once again they drop the ball miserably. what about it, kessler? >> it sounds like they did. but you know these are the kind of cases that haunt family court judges. you know some cases are, both parents are fighting for custody. it sounds like this is the case of, no, you take the child. no, you take child. how many fathers would love to have their right to live with them and he gave the child to her and look what happenedp he's responsible for something. >> only for a brief time. only there about five weeks

while he was out of town work. everybody, we're taking your calls live. i want to go out to marlaina schiavo. our producer on the story. marlaina, what are your sources telling you about the possibility of charges on the mother? this case so disturbing. the police force has to call in grief counselors and chaplains arch finding this little girl's body. >> well, nancy, as we heard tonight, they are -- there are still pending charges in this case. and we would imagine that's going to be against the mother. and also today when i spoke to the public defender's office, we were talking about -- they said that right now she's being defended by an attorney that they assigned. but if and when murder one charges come her way, they're going to send her case over to raleigh, where the capital defender's office is. so we could possibly see charges coming her way quite soon. >> joining me right now out of the sleepy hollow neighborhood, barbara davenport. she actually rented this home to

antoinette davis' sister. ms. davenport, thank you for being with us. >> caller: hi. thank you for having me, nancy. >> ms. davenport, i know all of this has been a real shock. it's always so disturbing when you find out somebody right down the street has done something like this, allegedly. what do you know about how the child was being kept in the home? did they stay to themselves? it's my understanding from our sources, the home was a pigsty. >> caller: it was an absolute pigsty. in fact, that evidence was used against brenda davis in court this morning. >> oh, really, tell me about that, ms. davenport. >> caller: well, i filed eviction papers on ms. davis. the decision had been made toward the end of october that she was going to be evicted. we were waiting to see if she was going to pay her rent or if we were just going to have to

cancel her lease. and as it turned out, she did not pay her rent. >> what were the conditions that the child was living in? >> caller: pigsty. absolute pigsty. that's why the police would not let them go back into the home. >> you know what -- you know some people do not deserve the blessing of children. i waited 47 years before i got to have the twins. and they have been such a blessing. >> caller: and they are blessed to have you as a mother. >> and ms. davenport, the way that they were -- the conditions -- i don't care about not having a lot of money. i grew up and our family didn't have a lot of money. >> caller: you can be poor and clean. >> to have a child -- to have the child living in those conditions and then to hand her over to the man that rapes and kills her, according to police. matt zarrell, what more can you tell me about the investigation? it speaks very strongly that the police had to call in grief

counselors and chaplains. >> yes, it does nancy. now what i can tell zwlu mcneill's being held on no bond. and what could be a key to this case is soil samples. they took soil soil samples fro exterior of his car. they could link it to the crime scene. >> matt zarrell, that's an excellent point i overlooked after listening to the press conference. i want to go to dr. titus duncan. atlanta medical center. dr. duncan, thank you for being with us. the fact they could get soil out of the car to possibly match it up to the crime scene is incredible. when autopsies are performed you have to be so careful to get every scrap of evidence, even dirt. dirt could crack this case. >> right. there are a lot of evidence that you can actually get from the crime scene. saliva, semen, blood, you can get a lot of things that can actually tell you in some sort or form of fashion, is thisser. really related to the crime? for the most part these kind of

dna inspections will be very, very valuable when they get them and that's probably what the police actually have that they're looking at that has actually given them some evidence that he has probably got. >> it's amazing to me, dr. titus duncan that dirt could actually identify the killer. everybody, we're taking your calls live. i want to wish a very happy birthday to california friend of the show, paul ketty. loves writing, animals, riding po go sticks. favorite book, "eleventh convict."

we met with the district attorney, ed granice, margaret russ, and after going over some facts of the case the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill. first-degree murder, first degree rape of a child. >> breaking news. we are live in north carolina, where murder one charges have just been announced by chief of police. charges against this man, 29-year-old mario andrette

mcneill. there he is photographed with 5-year-old shaniya davis taking her into a hotel room after her mother hands her over to him. we are taking your calls live. let's go out to shirley, iowa. hi shirley. >> caller: hello, nancy. >> hi, dear, what's your question? >> caller: do you think the mother will get the same charges as the guy? in my opinion i think she needs to. that is so sad about that. >> shirley in iowa, we can only pray that she meets the same fate as mario mcneill. i've laid out the legal theory for the lawyers, for the prosecutors e erors in case the it. not that they need it. out to christine, alabama, hi. >> caller: hi, how are you? >> i'm good, dear, what's your question? >> caller: i was wond erlg, have they laid out, like, a timeline as far as how long or if the mother knew, had already known

that shaniya -- >> hold on, christine. if the mother knew what? >> caller: if the mother had already known. did she have any idea? >> idea of what? an idea of what? >> caller: that her daughter had already been murdered by this man she handed him over to. >> okay. at the time she called police, christine, it's my understanding they were already checking into the hotel, the child was not dead yet. the question would be, did she intend to hand the child over for prostituoon, if so, that is a felony and death occurred. that's felony murder, christine in alabama. everyone, let's stop and remember army sergeant spencer acres. from a family of military vets awarded bronze star and purple heart. loved e-mailing parents every day. dreameded of being a state trooper. leaves behind parents carol and don, sister janine. spencer akers. american hero.

thanks to our guests and most of all to you for being with us. tonight, our prayers to heaven for little shaniya. see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharn sharp eastern and until then, good night, friend. tonight on "the joy behar show," for the first time nancy grace joins me. she'll talk about crime and punishment, the issue, not the book, and she'll talk about what really gets her fired up. then sarah palin insisted comments she made last night would have liberal heads spinning. well, she couldn't be more wrong. my head is fine. for now. and the latest edition to late night, george lopez,

explains why he could never make his grandmother happy. eeeee

tonight on "the joy behar show," she can't stop poets with her bare hands or leap tall buildings in a single bound, but she is one of america's best and most famous crime fighters. hln's own nancy grace will be here. then it's a good fight. martha stewart stirs up a pot of trouble when she takes on america's kitchen sweetheart, rachel way. george lopez is here, he's part of the changing face of late night talk. he'll be there to chat about that and whatever else he wants to. he's funny. all that starts right now.

we're starting tonight with a horrific story out of missouri. a 15-year-old girl confessed to murdering a 9-year-old girl to feel what it was like to kill someone. now she's being charged as an adult and could face life in prison. is a 15-year-old girl or boy an adult? where do you draw the line between punishment and rehabilitation? joining me to discussion this is hln's nancy grace author of the best selling book "the eleventh victim." >> hi, joy. >> welcome to my show. how did alyssa know the little girl that was killed? >> number one, i did not realize you and the accused killer were on a first name basis. that aside, alyssa bustamante knew the victim in this case, a 9-year-old little girl, elizabeth olten, because olten is her little sister's playmate. they had a play date that day. >> i see.

i'll call her by her full name. alyssa bustamante. cops say she dug two graves days before the murder. was she planning to kill two people? >> joy, i've been wondering that. i've been shuddering to think who the second grave was for. the significance, joy, of her digging two graves ahead of time goes to the state's ability to prove premeditation in this case. what they're going to try to show is this was not an act that occurred at the spur of the moment, which would be a lesser offense, but something that bustamante had planned for some time. it's my understanding, joy, from my reading of the facts, that this little girl, a 9-year-old girl, had gone over to bustamante's home that day for a play date with little sister. apparently bustamante lured her into the woods and killed her there, according to police. bustmante is very thin and there's no way she could have dragged a 9-year-old child's

body across the street and into the woods without being apprehended. >> what's the matter with this girl? is she mentally ill? is she going to plead insanity or what? >> i can go ahead and read the tea leafs. she'll be pleading insanity. were there warnings? could you see a red flag? the answer is yes. this child, the 15-year-old, had gone on myspace, youtube, and on one of these had posted a profile where she says her favorite activities are killing and cutting. then she goes on, joy, to post a video of her electrocuting herself and her two little brothers on an electric fence. now, joy, come on, what does she have to do? take out an ad on third avenue and say i'm planning to kill? >> it's sad. the whole story. he's going to be tried as an adult. do you think there are certain risks to that? >> i assume you're talking about risks to the state. >> yeah. >> the risk to the state -- >> i am. >> -- would be that a jury would feel sorry for her.

i mean, yes, i believe the police, i believe she's most likely responsible for a cold-blooded murder. but she is a 15-year-old girl. >> was sshe tried to commit sui this girl, when she was 13 years old. >> she's been in counseling ever since, joy. i see an insanity defense. i think a jury will feel sorry for her, but overall i believe they will convict because it was so thought out. the heinous nature of the crime. there's really nothing else they can do but convict. >> i think that we have a look a little bit at her own story, though i know she's going to go to prison or they're going to do something terrible to this grl u of course. do you think she was abused as a child, herself? i hate the abuse excuse, but she's only 15. >> that was one of my first questions when i found out this child, this 15-year-old juvenile had been in treatment so long, she tried to commit suicide at an early age of 13, it screams

out to me at some point she has been molested. i don't know the answer to that. believe me, we'll know in trial. if she has been, the defense will parade it front and center in their defense as they should. >> yes. to be violent at such a young age, something had to happen to her. this doesn't come out of nowhere. >> you either get it from somewhere inside of you like you're suggesting or her environment. her grandparents who were raising her had apparently been very, very good guardians. i know you were wondering about her suicide attempt. you were wondering what would happen to her. if she's treated as a juvenile, then she will get out at age 21. that's in less than six years. if she's treated as an adult which she most likely will be, there's a chance she may be released at age 21. as far as rehab goes? do i think she can be rehabbed? no. because this was not an impulse act. this is part of her psyche. she has been interested in killing and cutting not only herself but other people for a

very long time. this is part of her makeup. this is who she is. her behavior may be able to be controlled one day, but you cannot change who you are. >> definitely. okay. let's turn to another gruesome story. we don't have too much time, but 5-year-old shaniya davis was allegedly sold into prostituion and later killed. the later theory is the mother sold her daughter because she owed drug money. >> this is what i know. i know the mother used drugs and the mother allowed her a home to be a place where drugs were sold. mcneill, the man pictured with the child is a doper. i know she owed him money. i can put two and two together, i get four. yes, it was a drug debt according to our sources. the child's life was worth nothing more than a drug debt to the mother. antoinette davis. and if that's true, she will be in front of a jury facing the

same penalty as the person who killed the little girl. as you know, a formal charges just coming down and i expect the rath of a jury will be felt by antoinette davis. >> even though she didn't literally kill the child, even though she just gave it to someone else -- >> whoa, hold on. you know, joy, i like you a lot, i really do. i've liked you for a long time, but when you say all she did was hand over the child -- >> no, no, that's not what i said. calm down, nancy. >> all she did was hand over a 5-year-old little girl to a doper. a dope dealer who in the past -- >> i'm just as outraged as you are. i'm just as outraged as you are. i'm just saying will she be penalized in the same way as if she killed the child? >> i can only pray. >> okay. now, what do you think about child trafficking? that seems to be the issue here. she was selling the child into trafficking. i understand this is a big

problem in this country as well as all over the world. >> you know, that's shocking, but you're absolutely correct, joy. we think of child prostituoin and child sex rings of something that happens far away in places we've never been like thailand or far east. that's not true. i remember as a prosecutor busting a child prostituion ring. when i had to look for the child victim, a 12-year-old girl, joy, when i found her i was in the room with her. i thought she was 31 years old. she was 12. she had on the pretty woman boots that zip up all the way to your hips. she had on a big weave, makeup, nails. i said, that's her? i couldn't believe it. when you got that off of her she looked like a 12-year-old girl over in catholic school. it was shocking to me, but child prostituion is huge within this country, joy. >> it's a big problem here, too, i understand.

don't go away, nancy. we're going to be talking to you again later in the show. remember, catch nancy grace right here on hln immediately following this show. we'll be right back.

95%, though, of the campaign was absolutely amazing, awesome, invigorating, energizing. the people whom we met all along the trail were absolutely inspiring, and unfortunately, you know, not enough pages available in a book to get to describe all of that, but about the 5% of the conflict is in the book. >> is in the book. >> that's sarah palin, remember her? in the friendly environment of fox news. where everything is wonderful. still making the media rounds for "going rogue." i guess the sequel "going roguer" will tell the story about the great parts of the

campaign. joining me to discuss palin's latest comments is the conservative columnist, s.e. cop, the co-author of "why you're wrong about the right." comedian vick henley. and kmeed yen -- i don't want to be sexist here. she's a comedian. kate clinton. author of "i told you so." okay. so first of all, s.e., i must tell you that she thanks you in your book. it says thanks to s.e. i don't know anybody else named s.e. >> my parents are very proud. >> are they conservatives like you? >> they are conservatives so they are proud. i was flattered as well. >> you never rebelled against it. >> i didn't. no. i wasn't raised political. i came at it later. there was no rebellion. >> they are conservative. most kids like you would turn to drugs. >> sure, well -- that is later. >> you know? >> yeah. >> addiction. before we -- let's look at another thing. palin talked to right-wing fan

sean hannity for one hour. he got her to answer a question she's long been dodging. >> i know you've talked a lot in every interview about the couric interview. how would you answer those questions differently? the two that got the most play in the media? >> that i screwed up on. i did a horrible job with that and let my annoyance show so brightly. it was very unprofessional of me. i shouldn't have done that. she asked about what i read. i read "news max" and the "frontiersman" and "the wall street journal." everything online. i absorb the news via many, many sources. >> she forgot "the cat in the hat." >> "the little engel that could." "the pokey puppy." >> what took her so long to answer the question? did she not understand the question? >> i think that i don't even know if she's real. i think she's a reindeer and

shaved her antlers off and taught her how to speak. >> she's a person. she's a real american. >> really? i don't want to be real american if that's a real american. >> i think that maybe she was wrapping fish in some of the papers, and just forgot, you know, that that's where it was or maybe she reads everything online. i don't know. i love how they act like it was a trick question from katie couric. what do you read? >> isn't she playing the victim constantly? i mean, she's always blaming everybody for her problems. >> i don't know. first of all, i don't think she's got too many problems right now. she's a bestseller. it was a bestseller before it hit the shelves. she's going to be a multimillionaire. she's doing just fine. she said it best in the oprah interview. katie couric looked at her like she was from his nomadic tribe from alaska and asking her what she read was like asking her if she read. i don't think she's being a

victim. >> i don't think that's true. i think they would ask president obama, what do you read? people ask me that question all the time. >> i don't know. president obama wrote an autobiography when he was a state legislator. he listed out the things he's read and his mentors and his influences from academia. i think they wouldn't ask him that because it's very clear he's a cultured -- >> it's a legitimate question. >> bill clinton used to love to read mystery novels and talked about -- >> and sex novels, too. he was a reader. >> they were written by lynne cheney. >> you know, she said that the campaign aide, this is another interesting thing, nicolle wallace, she said that she made her do the interview with katie couric because katie couric has low self-esteem. did you read that? >> yeah. >> like a pity interview. >> like a pity interview. >> katie couric, didn't she do her colonoscopy on television? don't you think you need high self-esteem for that? >> i feel bad for the mailmen

that month. what do they do with the envelopes you're supposed to send in? >> what are you talking about? >> the stool samples. >> my people only told me to come here today because you had really low self-esteem. >> there's another example of some kpraez talk. nicolle wallace says the opposite. when she -- levi johnston, her pseudodoe son-in-law says one thing about her, she disagrees. then there's this guy, steve schmidt. it's like, what do these people need? a lie detector test? it's always he said/she said. >> you know that politics. in any, you know, losing campaign, fingers get pointed and people get blamed. heads roll. you know, this was her sort of chance to defend herself against all of these accusations and allegations that have been swimming around for a year. she put it in a book. she did it. end of story. >> okay. when asked about her future, palin had this to say. >> you're going to hear a lot

from me, so, you know, the hatest are going to have a whole lot of material. tina fey may have a whole lot of material coming up, but our message is strong. our message is truth, and our message, my message, i think, is a voice for that common sense everyday hard-working american who expects not much out of their government except for it to be on their side. >> she refers to the haters. it's an interesting way to deal with the world to say "the haters." s >> >> it's comedy. i love her. i want her to talk all she can. we're comedians. it's great material. >> sigmund freud says -- he says hate is an ego state that wishes to destroy the source of its unhappiness. so we don't hate her. she is the source of our happiness. >> how interesting. i always knew it. >> isn't it, that description of it -- >> i loved it. >> she makes us happy. so we don't hate her. >> no.

i love that she's gotten a lot of people activated that never, ever would have been out involved in politics at all. you know, people come out -- i think it's great. i think it's -- >> like the opposite of obama. he dragged them out also. >> yeah. >> for different reasons. >> two different groups. >> they're out there. i don't care. i just want them out there, and, you know, talking about what they believe in, why they like her. i certainly have gotten a lot of comedy gifts from her, but i take them very seriously. >> what she says, americans who expect not much out of our government except for it to be on their side. she's in the united states. she's not in the soviet union. the government is on her side in this country. why does she say things like that? >> i think she's speaking to an ethos that exists now where people are a little nervous about where the country is going. it's leaning left. it's been right for eight years. >> it seems like it's tilting back to the right a little bit. >> wiell, at least to the cente. >> that's all right. >> i don't think there's

anything more juvenile about her calling out her haters than there is about obama attacking a fox news. >> that was a mistake. i agree with you on that. >> political mistake. it looked unpresidential. i mean, you call out the people that are calling you out. eventually you have to defend yourself. >> she wants to run for president. if she does. she doesn't say it. >> i think she will. >> which party is she going to run in? she's thrown everybody under the bus. she's thrown the republicans under the bus. the democrats she's thrown them under and then backed up again. >> she just backed up this conservative party candidate in new york 23. which didn't work out. you know, that's a valid point. you know, where is she going to go? she could go independent. i think she really loves the gop but she realizes that there are some problems in it right now. >> if she won, would she quit? who's to say she would -- >> that's true. >> she didn't even serve her term. i can't even believe -- >> americans have that issue with her, that she's going to be perceived as a quitter. >> that's true. >> how long was she there?

18 months in alaska? >> okay. stick with me. we're going to get the real political intrigue next. martha stewart versus rachel ray. i love this. stick around.

the fabulous martha stewart took off her oven mitts in an interview with abc's "nightline" when asked about fellow cook rachel ray. >> just came back from the rachel ray show. she drops things on the floor and throws them in the batter. >> to me she professed she cannot bake. she just did a new cookbook which is just a reed did it of of her old recipes. that's not good enough for me. i really want to write a book that's a unique and lasting thing, something that will really fulfill a need in someone's library, so she's different. she's more of an entertainer than she is with a bubbly

personality than she is a teacher like me. >> we have cynthia mcfadden coming on the show next week. we're going it ask her. them's fighting words. i'm back with my panel to discuss this culinary throwdown. besides publicity ratings and cash, what does martha have to gain from that type of comment? >> you know, she's just bubbling with joy. you can tell she's so enthusiastic about her life. >> rachel -- go ahead. >> rachel agreed -- martha stewart was like a cartoon of herself right there. she is the queen of smug kond sense. i feel like she looks at rachel ray like she's the sarah palin of the how-to world. undefined. unlearned. martha stewart calls herself a teacher. meanwhile, rachel ray has this massive empire. elite class of the martha

stewarts will never understand the appeal. >> rachel said her skill set is far beyond mine, rachel said. that's simply the reality of it. that's very sweet. that doesn't mean what i do isn't important, too. i really just think she's being honest. then she adds, i'd rather eat martha's than mine. i'd rather eat martha's than mine. >> food, food. >> a little confusing. >> what kind of show is this? >> is she being polite or afraid of getting shifed? >> it might be that. you don't want to get a hot glue gun in the back. >> i thought she was so gracious. >> rachel ray is a darling girl. >> she was wonderful. >> she's a generous girl, she gives a lot to charity and takes care of kids, with lunches. >> when you have buckets of money like she does. >> she doesn't have to do all the good things like she does. mart martha's fine. she did a little time, but so what. >> my idiot relatives down south

get encouraged by martha and i don't like that. i get crappy gifts because of that. i get a pine cone with glitter on it, i'm a crafter, no, you're che cheap. >> do i have a little time? i have a little time. karl rove is coming out with a book. it's coming in march. are people going to remember who he is by then? will there be book signings in prison for him? what do you think about that? >> "going rove." i like it. >> i like that. >> "going rover." >> i mean -- >> courage and ambition. courage and consequence. >> it's called courage and consequence? yeah. >> because ignorance and fallout was already taken by somebody else. >> so was labidicous. >> what do you think, s.e.? >> i think it's going to be great. >> it will be great. >> i'm there. i'll be first in line. >> thank you very much, everybody. up next, nancy grace joins me once more.

she is one of the most recognizable names on tv. she's a victim's right advocate. she's a best. selling author and she's back with me. hln's own nancy grace. author of the best selling novel "the eleventh victim." so, nancy, we've talked enough about these crime stories, although i don't really know how you sleep. don't these stories just go in your head round and round? >> well, joy, sometimes i don't know how i sleep either. they keep me awake through the night, and i've got the nanny cams out the yin-yang for the few hours i'm away from the twins.

i've ran my own rap sheets the other day just to make sure i didn't have a record, of everybody who comes in touch with the twins. at a certain point, i guess you just have to believe in the goodness of people and you just have to trust in god. because, you know, joy, i got pregnant when i was 47. i gave birth when i was 48, and the three of us nearly died during that. >> i know that story from your visit to me on "the view." >> i'm so blessed. >> how are the twins doing? >> oh, joy, they just turned 2 last week. we had a big shindig with both sets of the family. they all converged. we had a big time. lucy got bracelets. john david got plastic watches. these are some of my favorite photos that i took of them, and, joy, they're the loves of my life. >> i know. they're so adorable. look at them. how cute. you could just eat them up. >> i know, i know. i want to eat them up all the

time, but then they'd be gone. >> they look like little nuns in that picture. >> in that picture i actually had to put little baby blankets, receiving blankets around their heads because their necks weren't strong enough to hold up. there's john david lounging in mommy's bed. >> watching tv. >> and there's lucy in a laundry basket. >> oh, really? that's cute. >> and now i put her in the laundry basket, she sits up and i pull her around like i'm a horse. >> let's talk about your book. she wrote "the eleventh victim." i'm told there are parallels in this book to your life. it is a crime book. >> yes. number one, i'd much rather talk about crime and analyze cases than talk about myself, but the book, "eleventh victim," what's funny, joy, when i first left the courtroom, i missed it so much. i was up in new york. i just moved there to start a show at then court tv with johnny cochran. god rest his soul. i started writing about the courtroom.

when i'd get home from work at night. i was all alone. that's when i actually started writing the book. that was a long time ago. so many things happened in the interrum that i finally finished the book. >> that's great. i was reading you came to new york with nothing but a curling iron, two boxes of clothes and $200. life's gotten a little more complicated since then, hasn't it? >> it's gotten a lot more blessed. i have three curling irons to my name, none of which i can find right now. john david found them under the counter and ran off with them. i haven't seen them since. i haven't seen them in a long time, joy. life has gotten a lot more blessed. i thought i was so happy then. i had no idea what happy was. >> you know, you and i are both taken apart on "saturday night live." fred armson does me and amy poehler did an expression of you on "saturday night live." i want to look at this. >> and i know you keep playing it over an over in your mind, and i need to remind you that

you are a victim and you need to stop feeling so ashamed. >> i'm not a victim, and i'm not ashamed. >> that means you're healing. >> how did she do? what do you think of that? >> oh, well, i love amy poehler. i remember the first time i heard the parody. i was almost asleep. i'm embarrassed, i was so tired, and i thought the tivo had started playing my own show back. and i thought, why did i tape my own show? i've already lived through it. why do i want to watch it again? i jerked up to see what was happening and went, that was not me, it's "saturday night live." that's the first time i ever saw that. people ask, does it make me mad? i think it's hilarious. >> i thunk you're overlooked. boston legal did a character based on you and the character got hit over the head with a shovel. >> i heard that. i heard that, but happily they let me live. so they didn't kill me off. maybe i will make a return.

>> they let you live. now, let me just see what else you're doing with your life. you have kids, you have a hit show, you have a novel. what else are you going to do next? >> well, i'd like to have more children, but i think i'm kind of too old for that. you know what? all i want to do now is fight crime in the best way that i can -- >> yeah. you're not going to have -- >> be a mom. >> and be a mom to these. you don't are want to have anymore at your age, do you? >> i still dream of it and i'm still able. we almost died the first time, so i couldn't bare to leave these two to be raised without a mommy. >> it's great to have given birth to twins at your age. >> i remember when i found out -- oh, look at them. look at them. that is on their birthday. their birthday morning. i had stayed up the night before after i got home from work, and made cookies. and those are the cookies for them. there they are with their crowns

on. the day of their birthday. >> nancy grace makes cookies. that's so cute. >> i did. >> tell me about the tv project you have going on. >> the tv project? oh, yeah, well we may be trying to launch a conflict resolution show called "swift justice." and i'm waiting to see if that's going to happen. centered around crime and justice. i'm very, very excited about it. fingers crossed. >> you always want to have another show to keep yourself going -- >> yeah, i don't really have enough to do. got to stay busy. >> how much does your husband do, to take care of the kids? >> well, here's the problem with him. he travels, joy. he's an investment banker so he travels. i stay with the twins up until the last second i can and he usually gets home sometimes after that, but he's a very hands-on father. very hands-on. in fact, when we first brought the twins home, he could change a diaper better than me. >> a lot of people would have

two nannies if they had twins. do you have one nannies or two nannies? >> typically i have them myself without anybody, but toward the end of the day when i have to go to work, then i have two people come in. two people come in because, look, let me tell you something, joy, especially now that they're mobile, one runs that way and one runs the other way. i have a man and woman that keep them -- >> that's great. it's so nice to talk to you. keep up the good work, nancy. >> thank you, joy. >> everybody loves your show. the book is called "the eleventh victim." nancy grace is coming up immediately following my show right here on hln. next, the latest edition to the late night lineup. the funny george lopez.

everybody relax. you're screaming for a 48-year-old man. who looks better -- who looks better with clothes on. >> he's gone from the san fernando valley to having a star on the hollywood walk of fame. now he's coming into all of our bedrooms late at night with his talk show. "lopez tonight." he's funny, outspoken and pulls no punches. joining me from l.a., fabulouslifabulously talented george lopez. >> how are you, joy? >> i'm good. before we talk about your show, which i love. by the way, you're younger than

letterman and leno. just saying that. that's all. >> combined? >> combined. i know that you are a big fan of sarah palin. let's watch this. >> there are a lot of politicians that would be lat o latinos and a lot now who are latino. sarah palin, latina. she's got all the science. she works and her husband don't. >> owhat other signs are there that palin is latino? >> she has a child and a grandchild the same age and the tell-tale sign is she needs to get her roots done. >> you think so? >> absolutely. >> do you live -- let me ask you, do you live in her real ameri america, do you think? >> i can't see mexico from my porch, so i don't think so. >> i mean, are you -- i think

you're part of the liberal elite in some way, are you not? >> you know, it's funny, because i think i have become, but i wasn't intending that at the beginning. i mean, it's funny that when you talk about political subjects and people that at some point they think you're more intelligent than you actually are. >> uh-huh. i think there's a conservative elite. they're the ones making the big money. i don't know what she's talking about when she says -- yeah. >> i don't know completely if she knows what she's talking about at this point. her whole life is really one of those things where because of the reality and the reality stars and the situations, you know, being a governor of alaska would have been a great gig if that was it, but to take that thing and try to take it global or through the united states when you haven't been a political figure and you haven't traveled and you haven't gone to congress and you haven't passed any major bills, it's a difficult pill to have america swallow.

i mean, the concept of todd palin being a stay at home dad -- listen, joy, when i was a kid, those guys were called bums. >> uh-huh. they're still called bums. let's talk about obama. okay? he's getting a lot of flak lately because he was -- they say he was graveling to the japanese emperor. what do you think about all that criticism he's getting? >> listen, i don't think that -- listen, you win a nobel peace prize which i consider one of the best honors in the world and it starts more fights than you could ever imagine. i don't think obama can do anything right in anybody's eyes. he inherited a mess from our predecessor for eight years. he's only been in office for 11 months. change doesn't happen like that. there are people who say he hasn't done anything. i'm in california. we love him here because he told the federal government to lay off the medical marijuana

clinics. it's all love out here. >> he did get a lot of the hispanic vote when he was -- right? >> you know, i think i was partly responsible for that because i did campaign with him for a year and i was never a hillary clinton supporter. i was only a barack obama supporter and he did a promo for my show, "lopez tonight" on tbs. they asked me, how did i help obama get a promo? i helped him get a birth certificate, plain and simple. >> okay. that makes sense. what about glenn beck and extreme right wingers. they call him names. names -- they'll call him a fascist and marxist. they'll call him a socialist, racist. they even called him a racist. what do you make of that? >> well, i don't believe that that's the case. there has to be a certain amount of respect for the office of the president of the united states. i'm not sure in any administration that any reporter or anybody from the press had ever literally called anybody in the oval office a racist or a

fascist or anarchist or any of the things they're going now. i mean, it's a little bit interesting that glenn beck became meaner when he went to fox than when he was at cnn. >> that's true. you know, i don't know -- i guess you consider him part of the media. i sort of think aftof him as a rodeo clown. other people during the bush administration, myself included, took many shots at george bush for being dumb. okay, the truth hurts, but still. >> well, you know, i think bush was latino too because he lived in a house that wasn't his and english wasn't his first language. so -- >> that's my point. that's my point. >> i think there's some truth -- there's some truth in that, but this -- you know, barack obama cannot do anything right, and we'll have to see in 2012 if sarah palin is the nominee, i said it the other night on my show, if she becomes the

nominee, we will all go back to mexico. >> i'll go with you. i will go with you. i love mexican food. now, let's talk about your talk show. why did you want to do a late night talk show? >> it's interesting. obviously late night looks a certain way and it's hard to me for say, because then i'll be a racist. it's a particular hue that i don't believe was connecting across the lines. i don't believe it was a formula that was working beyond what america looked like. and, you know, i have a costco card. i see what america truly looks like, and it didn't represent any of that. so i thought i could bring back an element and bring back conversation and bring back listening and bring back harder-edge material. in the two weeks i've been on the air i think i've done that. >> you're saying there are so many white guys in late night. i think that's where you were going, right? >> that's what i was trying to say. a cavalcade of caucasians. >> one of the great caucasians

of late night was johnny carson. you watch the others and they're also very good. johnny had a special thing. he was so glib. he made it look like it was really was easy and very, very funny. >> yeah, you know, steve allen -- it's interesting, i spoke to a writer who had done shows with steve allen. when you come from a comedic background and steve allen would say, i don't believe it's that hard. you know, we as comics open our heads and open -- all of our senses are open. you have brought an element to your show own to "the view" that comedically barbara or whoopi, i think, hasn't and sherry now hasn't. in the transformations of the host, it's not always somebody who's consistently around being funny. it absolutely helps. >> it is helpful to have. would you have done the 10:00 p.m. slot that leno's doing? >> you know, i would not have.

that is a formula that works for hour dramas. "e.r." was on nbc for 16 years. it's really tough to try to connect with an audience that's used to one type of show. you have your "csis" and "grays anatomies." off that network, there are great shows at 10:00 all across the board and all around cable. i don't believe network tv is the first place to stop when you turn your television on. you know, with respect to jay leno, i'm not sure if there are a lot of people who would have taken that spot and tried to fill in the hour of a show that was supposed to be different but that looks like it's the same show that he had at 11:30. >> i don't think that was his choice to move there. i think they made that deal with conan and then they just did it. that was a big mistake in a certain way to move it around like that. nobody is really doing well. >> yeah. you know, it's unfortunate, he hasn't gotten off to the start he wanted to get off to. it's affecting the news at 11:00

and "the tonight show" at 11:35. you know -- >> he said something about how he would take it back, the 11:30 slot. he would take it back. >> no, i don't believe it's too late, that's a good point that you're making. i think people in america have become accustomed to seeing jay at -- in "the tonight show" spot and conan was comfortable in new york. it's affected the whole -- it's thrown late night into flux. i'm happy to be at tbs where i have "meet the browns" as a lead-in and "the office." >> you're doing just fine over there. when we come back, i'll ask george lopez about the worst time he ever had on stage. don't go away. >> oh, my god! larry david, you are 37% native american.

a lot of my friends don't speak english, so they don't understand rodney dangerfield. what we need is a spanish speaking rodney. wouldn't that be great? [ speaking spanish ] >> that is funny. you know, you're funny. you're a funny guy. >> that's painful to watch. i bought those pants, they were the z. caberichi pants. >> tell me, george, what was your worst moment on stage? >> in 1989, i was asked to perform at the yakamo state fair. i didn't realize that it was a free stage and the guy says, you ready to go on?

i looked and there was probably six people there. and i said, there's six people. he said yeah, but go up there and as you talk, they'll hear your voice and they'll come and see you. as i was on stage, i got the biggest laughs that i got and i couldn't figure out why. and a clown on a miniature bike had ridden in front of the stage. and i looked down at the clown and i say hey, man, how about a little professional courtesy. >> you know, i had to follow a holocaust song one time. and now the comedy of. that was hard. that was hard. i have some twitter questions for you. all right? >> yeah. >> what was she like? >> you know, my grandmother i don't think ever experienced joy in her life. she passed in early august. it was unfortunate that i couldn't get her to understand she didn't need to worry as much

as she did, and even with some of my success, i tried to make her life better. but she never bought into the fact that you could be anything other than miserable. >> all righty. here's another one. you had a kidney transplant in 2005. what happened to the old one they want to know? >> the old ones remained inside me. they atrophied so bad they decided to leave it in. i have the one that was my wife's, which is very difficult to live with, joy. to have a piece of your wife inside of you. >> yeah, that is rough. >> and sometimes if she squeezes herself really hard, i faint. >> are you worried that she fight want it back? there was a story about a doctor who divorced his wife and she demanded that he return it. >> i love her very much, and there's a couple nights i wanted to take it out and throw it back at her, yes. >> how about -- and somebody wants to know, how has the

kidney transplant changed you? i had a near death experience one time and it changed me. what happened to you? >> i learned to appreciate every day of life. i was very sick, but even in doing this show or my hbo specials, i've seen you at "the view" by attitude is always very up. but listen, i was very sick and i never expected that my wife would match. and i appreciate every day. and you know, show business is a great game to be in, especially if you have success. any success is very difficult in this business. and i was happy with the sitcom, i'm happy with the way things are going. and the message is to live every day. >> you are hanging with the president now. it's fantastic. thanks, george. always a pleasure to see you. >> i love you, joy. >> thank you. okay, george's show airs on tbs at 11:00 p.m. thank you for watching. good night, everybody. ninininini

breaking news tonight, live, north carolina. a little 5-year-old girl vanishes without a trace. from the child's own home. mommy tells police she left the girl on the sofa, 5:30 a.m., one hour later the baby's gone. how does a 5-year-old go missing from her own sofa? the child wearing nothing but a t-shirt and underwear. shaniya's favorite blanket found discarded, covered in feces in the neighbor's trash. after graining surveillance video surfaces of a 29-year-old man, carrying the child in a local hotel room, the search for baby shaniya comes to an end.

police find her little body hidden in dense woods. the man in the video, mario mcneill, confesses to taking shaniya to the hotel but then clams up. in a heart-wrenching and disgusting twist, shaniya's own mother behind bars for selling the little girl for sex. was 5-year-old shaniya's life nothing more than a payment on a drug debt? reports emerge mommy owed mcneill money. and speaking of mcneill, why is he walking free? able to the take the little girl in the first place? he's got a wrap sheet a mile long including shooting several people, one in the head and neck. dope charges, of course. and running over a cop? why wasn't he behind bars instead of checking into a hotel with a 5-year-old little girl? bombshell tonight, we are waiting for a live press conference.

we also learned search warrants just released reveal 11 bags of evidence seized from this man, mario mcneill's car. and tonight, we learn high-tech soil samples may i.d. the killer. right now, to the presser live. >> while we have worked through a very difficult and complex issue surrounding this case. second, after careful consideration, it's been determined that jurisdiction for prosecution of this case will remain in cumberland county. at this time i would like to advise you that earlier this evening members of the shaniya davis task force received confirmation from the state medical's examiner's office on the ruling on the manner of the death of shaniya davis as a homicide. the preliminary tests results asphyxiation as the cause of death. however at that time, all examinations and testing have

not been completed. therefore, a final report has not been issued. earlier today, we met with the district attorney, ed grannis, margaret russ and after going over some facts of the case, the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill -- first-degree murder, first-degree rape of a child. the criminal investigation surrounding this unfortunate tragedy continues as the task force follows up on many numerous leads and gathers additional information pertaining to the investigation. as such in an effort to protect the integrity of the investigation and not jeopardize the criminal prosecution of any pending charges, we will not discuss many details of the investigation.

it is our sincere hope that the davis family may now begin to put this horrific event behind them and begin the healing process. i would like to take a moment to thank mr. grannis, ms. susan doyle of the lee county district attorney's office. and two gentlemen standing behind me, captain charles kimball and captain mark bridgman as they have headed up this task force for the last eight days and will continue to do so until we get where we need to be. >> how about ms. davis? >> we're still -- we're still currently doing an investigation. i have no comment on that. >> can you say what the relationship between mr. mcneall and ms. davis' sister? how all of that puts together. >> no comment at this time. >> chief, could you just tell us

where the young girl was killed? fayetteville, lee county? have you been able to point that out? >> due to the cause of death, that's a hard point to narrow down right now. >> you think it was at the motel or out on the field? >> no, we don't believe that it was at the hotel. >> what do you think the purpose of the 911 call to your offices were -- was some 45 minutes after he took her to the hotel? >> that's a matter of -- still being under -- still being investigated and we've got numerous phone records and messages and things of that nature that we're currently investigating and going through. >> are additional charges going to be filed against antoinette davis. >> this is still an ongoing process, an ongoing case and we've got numerous folks from the local, state and federal level working with us on this case.

>> any other suspects? >> as i said we're continuing to investigate. no comment on that at this time. >> chief, are you looking at -- [ inaudible question ] in this investigation? >> no comment. >> chief, are you looking at the possibility the 911 call was a ruse to hide the body? >> i will not comment at this time. >> you said in your investigation you said yesterday that it was going down, one of the avenues that you were looking at is that ms. davis had let mr. mcneill take this child in turn poor because she owed him a debt, money. can you say -- >> the current charges on ms. davis are standing as they are right now. >> okay. >> chief, after mcneill's arrested for kidnapping, your department said that he admitted to kidnapping. has he admitted the murder and the rape too? >> right now we're serving warrants on him for that and we've got our two lead

detectives serving warrants on mr. mcneill at this time. i have no comment on that. >> can we get a couple personal questions, maybe? i know those of us who covered the media covered you guys for a long time. this is probably one of the most horrific cases that you've had to investigate. what kind of toll has it taken on your officers? >> quite a bit. we're fortunate in our department. we have some folks active chaplains and we've been having some grief counseling here in the police department. and i really can't say enough about the intestinal fortitude and the hard work and everything that's been done, not only by our law enforcement agency, but really the surrounding law enforcement, rescue. this one has really reached out and touched a lot of folks.

>> you could tell if your guys? >> absolutely. and i have to tell you these two guys standing behind me they did a fantastic job. >> could we get some thoughts from the two gentlemen? >> absolutely. >> in terms of how tough it's been. >> give us your name, if you don't mind, too. >> captain charles kimball. >> and your thoughts on this case and how tough it's been for you and fellow officers? >> it's been a tough case. a lot of the people on the task force here, the police department, we are children so we can relate to some of the -- how tough it is going day to day. going home, looking at our children and knowing what happened to shaniya. we know it was a tragedy. but we remain professional and we know we had a job to do and we did it. >> on a personal level, charles, what was the hardest part from day one? >> we had a mission. our mission was to find shaniya and we did. >> some of your officers said they cried. >> it was tough. it was tough.

that's a reality. >> the toughest case you've been on? >> yes, it has. >> how long have you been on the force? >> i've been here 14 years. >> good evening. mark bridgman. been on the job here 23 -- or correction, 22 1/2 years. i don't want to advance myself any further than i have. tough case. had no idea. i led the -- worked with lee county emergency management services. and had no idea how many people became emotionally attached to this case. captain kimball and i attended a critical incident stress debriefing the night before last. and it got really emotional, for not only us, but for the search teams, the ems, everybody involved. and it's still emotional. it's still up and down. so you know it's one of those things, the hardest thing i've ever had to do in my career and i've seen a lot of stuff.

>> why do you think this is getting under your skin and everybody else's skin? >> that's a really good question. probably the -- you know the loss of the innocent. >> do you know -- have you determined if this is part of some type of -- human trafficking charge, speculated that maybe there's some time human trafficking ring and operation in this area? >> that's -- i'm not going to comment on that. >> personally, as a veteran lawman, you've been on some tough cases before. >> sure. >> what was going through your mind when you looked at mario mcneill and you realized, you raped and murdered that little girl? >> well, you have to remain professional, no doubt. you know it's just -- you can't figure out why. in this job, we respond. we don't create these situations. we react to them. and it's, you know, you could drive yourself crazy trying to figure out why would someone do this to an innocent girl. the best thing we could do is

work with the professional law enforcement community, the d.a.'s office and bring mr. mcneill and ms. davis to swift and certain justice. >> we had heard that you guys fought tooth and nail to have this case tried here in fayetteville. >> chuck was working with that with mr. grannis' office. >> greg, i got to tell you something. we had conversations the last day or two with mr. grannis and his staff, ms. doyle and her staff. and i've got to tell you, just fine leadership. fine leadership. and you know what, there was no fighting. nothing like that. true professionalism. and i think as mark stated, you know this case here has reached

out and touched all of us. and i just can't say enough good things about the leadership from those -- from those folks. >> well, i didn't mean fighting tooth and nail, but you stressed -- how bad did you want this case? >> well, let's just say i think from our perspective and i can speak for these folks and the task force folks, we started it from the beginning and we wanted to finish it out. >> what would you say -- one last comment to the folks in fayetteville about this whole ordeal, this whole tragedy? >> well, i was asked a question yesterday. you know there's a lot of causes of crime out here in the community. there's not really one big answer to alleviate crime. but i got to tell you, i think really now is the time for finger-pointing, arguing, things like that to stop.

and collectively, as a city, as a county, as a community, we've got to really work hard at looking at the issues. be able to look each other in the eyes, tell us the truth and really get down to solving a lot of these social problems that get us in these situations that we get in and you know keep us busy and keep you guys busy. and to me and to this department, that's real important. that's very important. >> [ inaudible question ] the legal system. >> probably tomorrow morning. it would be a first appearance. or tomorrow some time. okay, folks, thank you very much. i do appreciate it. >> thank you all for coming out. and just a reminder as this is an ongoing investigation there is no interview to be granted and -- >> you are seeing the end of a fayetteville police department press conference announcing

murder one charges against mario mcneill. pictured there on your screen in the murder, we now know, cause of death asphyxiation. the strangling or suffocation death of 5-year-old shaniya. also tonight the bombshell, rape charges on this child, also leveled against mcneill. right now police are not saying whether the mother, who allegedly handed her child over for child prostitution, to this man, there she is antoinette davis. whether she will also be charged with murder. but they are very carefully stating this is an ongoing investigation. we are taking your calls live and we'll be right back.

members of the shaniya davis task force received confirmation

from the state medical examiner's office on the ruling, on the manner of the death of shaniya davis as a homicide. the preliminary tests results, asphyxiation as the cause of death. however, at this time, all examinations and testing have not been completed, therefore, a final report has not been issued. we met with the district attorney, ed grannis, margaret russ, and after going over some facts of the case, the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill -- first-degree murder, first-degree rape of a child. the criminal investigation's surrounding this unfortunate tragedy continues as the task force follows up on many numerous leads and gathers

additional information pertaining to the investigation. as such in an effort to protect the integrity of the investigation and not jeopardize the criminal prosecution of any pending charges, we will not discuss many details of the investigation. it is our sincere hope that the davis family may begin to put this horrific event behind them and begin the healing process. >> that is chief of police fayetteville, north carolina, tom bergamine. just brought you out of a live conference that's going on right now. it has just ended. the chief of police has announced that formal charges have been filed against mario mcneill, the 29-year-old man, pictured in a hotel video with 5-year-old shaniya davis. we now know he is charged with first-degree murder and the rape of this child.

this 5-year-old little girl. my question tonight is, why isn't mommy charged with murder one? according to police reports, she's the one who handed the child over to this killer. we are taking your calls live. to jean casarez joining us. jean, what can you tell me? what will it take for a charge on mommy? >> well, she can definitely be charged and under north carolina law, if she was an accessory before the fact, an accessory after the fact, the conspiracy situation. she doesn't have to have been actively involved in killing the child. >> jean casarez, please, i don't want to hear any legal talk. break it down. she handed her child over to a killer for pete's sake. >> and we have to look at her knowledge, what did she know?

we've met with the district attorney, ed grannis, margaret russ. and after going over some facts of the case, the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill -- first-degree murder. first-degree rape of a child. >> we are live there in north carolina, where police have just announced murder one charges against 29-year-old mario adrette mcneill. the man that we have been showing you hotel surveillance

video in which he is carrying this 5-year-old little girl down a hall to a hotel room in which they say a little over an hour. there she is. that's the last known photo of this child alive in the arms of her alleged killer. also, charges tonight of child rape on this little girl. stunningly no murder charges against the mother, yet. the chief of police says this is an open investigation. we are taking your calls live. out to our first call. tanya, ohio. hi, tanya. >> caller: hi, nancy. i have a question and a comment. first i'd like to say, shame on these people that are coming forward now and saying, oh, well we saw cigarette burns and all of this on this poor little girl and did not get involved. and say, you know, call the authorities or say something. also my question is, this mother was probably on welfare or some kind of aid to dependent

children. why is there not a law in place for these welfare mothers -- why don't they have to take a drug test before they get a check and maybe some of this can be prevented and get these children out of these homes where they're being abused and neglected because of drugs? >> tanya in ohio, you are so right. before we hand over our tax money, okay, i would like to see a drug test run as well. now this mother antoinette davis had held down a job for about six months. that's the first i've known of her working. i also know, according to our sources, that drugs were being sold out of the home. mcneill has drug charges. we know tonight homicide, asphyxiation. that could be ligature, manual strangulation or smothering. and also know toxicology testing, not complete.

let's go straight out to mike brooks. former fed with the fbi. weigh in, mike. what does it say to you? why no charges against mommy tonight? >> i think they're waiting to put together the charges on her, nancy. because most likely it'll be first-degree murder. and there's a possibility she could face federal charges because of the human trafficking. >> mike brooks, i can only pray that she gets the same fate as mario mcneill.

members of the shaniya davis task force received confirmation from the state medical examiner's office on the ruling -- on the manner of the death of shaniya davis as a homicide. the preliminary tests results asphyxiation as the cause of death. however at that time, all examinations and testing have not been completed. therefore, a final report has not been issued. we met with the district attorney ed grannis, margaret russ.

and after going over some facts of the case, the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill -- first-degree murder, first-degree rape of a child. the criminal investigation surrounding this unfortunate tragedy continues as the task force follows up on many numerous leads and gathers additional information pertaining to the investigation. as such in an effort to protect the integrity of the investigation and not jeopardize the criminal prosecution of any pending charges, we will not discuss many details of the investigation. it is our sincere hope that the davis family may now begin to put this horrific event behind them and begin the healing process. >> ms. davis had let mr. mcneill

take this child in turn for -- because she owed him a debt, money. can you say -- >> the current charges on ms. davis are standing as they are right now. >> okay. >> chief, after mcneill's first arrested for kidnapping, your department said that he'd admitted the kidnapping. has he admitted the murder and the rape too? >> right now we're serving warrants on him for that and we've got our two lead detectives serving warrants on mr. mcneill at this time. >> as we go to air, murder one warrant's being served on 29-year-old mario adrette mcneill. the man that we have been showing you carrying little 5-year-old shaniya davis into a local hotel room. stayed a little over an hour and left with her still alive. her body found in a densely wooded area. we now know, as in the last few moments, cause of death is asphyxiation.

we also know testing not complete. was the child drugged or poisoned in any way? was she fed drugs or alcohol? we are waiting to find out. we also know that this man, mario adrette mcneill, he's got a wrap sheet as long as the interstate, is now charged with child rape on this 5-year-old little girl. we heard the chief of police tom bergamine tell us that right now the charges against mommy stand as they are. she has not been charged with murder, yet. however, many of us in law enforcement believe that those charges may very well come. we are taking your calls live. first, unleash the lawyers. joining us out of new york, defense attorney, joey jackson out of atlanta. defense attorney, randy kessler. welcome, gentlemen. kessler, why no murder charge on mommy? she handed her child over, according to charges, for this child to be put into prostitution.

a 5-year-old girl, kessler. that's a felony. this is a felony murder. she, according to police, committed a murder and a death occurred. she didn't have to plan the murder for her to be charged with felony murder. >> it's coming. and i can't imagine that they're thinking maybe there's a state's evidence, maybe she'll have something because they don't have mcneill good enough. it sounds like they've got locked in. >> put kessler back up. >> i agree. >> kessler, you have tried many cases. they don't need this mom's "cooperation." i think she's done plenty. they don't need her to roll over on mcneill. >> maybe she'll be desperate enough to start talking, talking, talking. hoping she's going to get a deal and then they charge her. they don't need her i agree. >> too much talking. joe, joe jackson, i agree with something that kessler just said. they don't need mommy's cooperation to prove this case. listen. listen, jackson. listen to what they've got. they took 11 bags of evidence

out of mario adrette mcneill's car. they took fingerprints. they found child's blankets. they got dna. come on, he's already confessed to the kidnapping. he's now charged with murder one and she handed the baby over for sex. a 5 year -- do you have a child, joe jackson? >> i certainly do. one who i love very much. >> age, age? >> 11 years old. >> can you even imagine -- >> not at all. >> -- handing your baby over to this -- this -- let me just say, freak. he already had charges of shooting three people. one in the neck and head. drug charges. he ran over -- >> but here's the problem, nancy. >> -- runs over a cop and she gives her baby to him. >> here's the problem but it's not necessarily that she knew this person's background. >> doesn't have do. >> i know. >> he dated her sister. >> we would all believe and we would all hope that they're responsible people amongst us. oftentimes there's not. >> jackson, put him up. put him up. mr. jackson, where did you go to law school? >> the big "h," hofstra.

>> okay. >> the harvard of long island. >> mr. jackson, as in a felony murder, if you can imagine this scenario. just imagine you and mr. kessler going into a bank to rob it. >> right. >> you don't plan to kill anybody but kessler pulls his gun and guns down a bank teller. you sir, can be charged with felony murder. is that correct? >> it's absolutely correct but here's the -- >> then that same principle applies here, does it not? >> it would apply if the facts support your theory, nancy. here's what i'm saying. first of all the fact that they say there's a kidnapping, we don't know. it is an ongoing investigation. maybe if this is for a debt, she said listen, hold onto my child. i swear i'll pay you. i'll do what i have to do. >> put him back up. put him back up. >> so the fact of the matter is that maybe she didn't have ill intent. maybe it was not that, listen, you know, eye mean no -- she could be accused of bad judgment. her judgment was misplaced. she's certainly ignorant in doing anything like that but to have the requisite and intent and to suggest that she was

giving her child and that it was a kidnapping and she's a murderer i think that's misplaced and we have to understand that. >> no, that's not my theory at all. you have completely misinterpreted it. and misrepeated it for your own purposes. to dr. bethany marshall. here is what i know. police have charged the mother, antoinette davis, with handing her baby over to be raped for child prostitution. we know that is police theory. if she did that, that is a felony. if a death occurred, she is guilty of felony murder. does it make sense tour, bethany? >> well -- and this may not had been to pay back a drug debt. maybe she manipulated the baby's daddy so that she could gain control of the child. because someone made her believe she could make thousands of dollars off of selling her child. or worse yet, perhaps she wanted to abuse the little boy -- the

little girl along with mario. perhaps this poor little girl was sodomized and that's why there was feces on the door handle and the railing. >> and that's more of the evidence that we have tonight as the evidence unfolds, we learn 11 bags, 11 bags of evidence, taken out of mario mcneill's car alone. how much was taken out of the mother's home? we know dna, fingerprints, children's blankets. we know that feces, likely this child's, was smeared on the door handle and the railing going along the front porch. that's what we know about the evidence so far. we know this child died of asphyxiation and her body without pants was found in a densely wooded area. i want to go to special guest marc klaas. president and founder klaaskids foundation. marc, our worst fears have been confirmed tonight. >> they certainly have, nancy.

and i think the question i have. well it's not even a question. listen, if the fundamental duty of government is public safety, then government has failed the citizens of north carolina. mario mcneill has a heinous, vial and violent criminal history that extends back to the new millennium and yet she was allowed on the streets of what is called unsupervised probation. now, the state's spokesman say, well, he's fulfilled his obligation to the state. he's been a good prisoner. but the reality is that the state has failed in its obligation to the citizens of north carolina and more specifically to the davis family and shaniya davis. in california we have a very controversial law called the three strikes law that draws a line in the sand. and it says that if you cannot abide by the rules of government of law, then you will spend the rest of your life in prison. and that's where this guy should

had been a long time ago. >> everyone, we'll all be right back. we're bringing you the very latest from north carolina, as felony murder charges handed down against mario mcneill in the death and the rape of 5-year-old shaniya davis. but as we go to break, there is happiness. here's the n.g. family album. believe me after a case like this, i'm going to go home and love these twins. i hope i don't wake them up. here they are. this is shortly after their birth in new york. and now family photos of our show friends, colorado friends barbara, sheryl. best friends since high school. they never miss a show. florida friends, brian and francis. here they are at spring vacation at a park on the kentucky side of the ohio river.

we met with the district attorney, ed grannis, margaret russ. and after going over some facts

of the case, the fayetteville will be filing the following charges against mario mcneill -- first-degree murder. first-degree rape of a child. >> could you just tell us where the young girl was killed? fayetteville? lee county? have you been able to point that -- narrow that down? >> due to the cause of death, that's a hard point to narrow down right now. >> you think it was at the motel or out in the field? >> no we don't believe that it was at the hotel. i really cannot say enough about the intestinal fortitude and the hard work and everything that's been done. not only by all of law enforcement agency but, really, the surrounding law enforcement, rescue. this one has really reached out and touched a lot of folks. >> a tough one for your guys? >> absolutely.

>> that is a live presser we just brought you out of north carolina. murder one charges handed down against mario mcneill. there he is, 29 years old. the one in the orange jumpsuit for the murder of this beautiful little 5-year-old little girl shaniya. also charged with child rape. mommy behind bars. but only on pimping the child out, putting her into human trafficking, as of yet she's not charged with murder. we're waiting for that charge to come down. let's go out to the lines. jean, ohio. hi, jean. >> caller: hi, nancy. >> hi, dear, what's your question? >> caller: first off, your babies are so cute. >> i am so blessed. >> caller: you are and you're an angel. you are an angel. >> and i've got to tell you, it makes it very, very difficult to cover stories like what has happened to little shaniya. >> caller: i know. i know. >> because of everything that i can do not to jump out of this chair and not to run all the way home. what's your question, love? >> caller: okay. yeah, do you know if the father

will be looking into any kind of charges on children's services or the schools for, you know -- >> excellent question. to the lawyers, randy kessler, joey jackson. the problem with that is dfcs is an arm of the government. and under sovereign immunity, the king can do no wrong, it's going to be difficult to prove anything against dfcs and once again they drop the ball miserably. what about it, kessler? >> it sounds like they did. but you know these are the kind of cases that haunt family court judges. you know some cases are, both parents are fighting for custody. it sounds like this is the case of, no, you take the child. no, you take child. how many fathers would love to have the right to have their child live with them and he gave the child to her and look what happened. he's responsible for something. >> only for a brief time. only there about five weeks while he was out of town work.

everybody, we're taking your calls live. i want to go out to marlaina schiavo. our producer on the story. marlaina, what are your sources telling you about the possibility of charges on the mother? this case so disturbing. the police force has to call in grief counselors and chaplains after find thing little girl's body. >> well, nancy, as we heard tonight, they are -- there are still pending charges in this case. and we would imagine that's going to be against the mother. and also today when i spoke to the public defender's office, we were talking about -- they said that right now she's being defended by an attorney that they assigned. but if and when murder one charges come her way, they're going to send her case over to raleigh, where the capital defender's office is. so we could possibly see charges coming her way quite soon. >> joining me right now out of the sleepy hollow neighborhood, barbara davenport. she actually rented this home to antoinette davis' sister. ms. davenport, thank you for being with us. >> caller: hi. thank you for having me, nancy. >> ms. davenport, i know all of

this has been a real shock. it's always so disturbing when you find out somebody right down the street has done something like this, allegedly. what do you know about how the child was being kept in the home? did they stay to themselves? it's my understanding from our sources, the home was a pigsty. >> caller: it was an absolute pigsty. in fact, that evidence was used against brenda davis in court this morning. >> oh, really, tell me about that, ms. davenport. >> caller: well, i filed eviction papers on ms. davis. the decision had been made toward the end of october that she was going to be evicted. we were waiting to see if she was going to pay her rent or if we were just going to have to cancel her lease. and as it turned out, she did not pay her rent. >> what about the can be --

conditions the child was living in? >> caller: pigsty. absolute pigsty. that's why the police would not let them go back into the home. >> you know what -- you know some people do not deserve the blessing of children. i waited 47 years before i got to have the twins. and they have been such a blessing. >> caller: and those babies are blessed to have you as a mother. >> and ms. davenport, the way that they were -- the conditions -- i don't care about not having a lot of money. i grew up and our family didn't have a lot of money. >> caller: you can be poor and clean. >> to have a child -- to have the child living in those conditions and then to hand her over to the man that rapes and kills her, according to police. matt zarrell, what more can you tell me about the investigation? it speaks very strongly that the police had to call in grief counselors and chaplains. >> yes, it does nancy. now what i can tell you that mcneill's being held on no bond. and what could be a key to this

case is soil samples. they took soil samples from the exterior of his car. and we don't know if it matched but it's possible they could link it to the crime scen it to the crime scene. >> matt, that's an excellent point i overlooked after listening to the press conference. i want to go to titus duncan. thank you for being with us. the fact that they could get soil out of the car to match to to the crime scene is incredible. you have to be careful to get every scrap of evidence and even dirt. dirt can crack the case. >> right. there is a lot of evidence you can get from the crime scene. saliva and semen and blood. a lot of things can tell you in a form or fashion, is this person related to the crime? for the most part, these dna

specimens will be very, very valuable when they get them. that's what the police have that they are looking at that has given them evidence that he has probably got. >> it's amazing to me, dr. titus duncan that dirt can identify the killer. we are taking your calls live, but i want to wish a happy birthday to a california friend of the show. paul likes animals and favorite book, 11th victim. you got me. happy birthday, paul.

we met with the district attorney, ed grannis, margaret russ and after going-over facts in the case, the fayetteville police department will be filing the following charges against mario mcneal. first-degree murder, first degree rape of a child. >> breaking news. we're live in north carolina where murder one charges have just been announced by chief of police. charges against this man, 29-year-old mario mcneal.

there he is photographed with 5-year-old shaniya davis taking her into a hotel room after her mother hands her over to him. we are taking your calls live. shirley in iowa,shirl e. >> caller: hello, nancy. >>, dear. what's your question. >> caller: will the mother get the same charges as the guy. i think she needs to. that is so sad about that. >> shirley in iowa, we can only pray that she meets the same fate as mario mcneal. i laid out the legal theory for the lawyers and the prosecutors, not that they need it. they have excellent reputations as prosecutors. out to christine in alabama. hi. >> how are you? >> i'm good, dear, what's your question? >> caller: have they made out a timeline as far as how long or if the mother knew or had known

about shaniya. >> if the mother knew what? >>. >> caller: did she have an idea that her daughter was murdered by the man she handed her over to. >> it's my understanding by will time they called police they were checking into the hotel. the child was not dead. did she intend to hand the child over for prostitution and a death occurred, that is felony murder, christine in alabama. let's stop and remember spencer acres, 35 from michigan. from a family of military vets on a second tour, loved army, helping others and e-mailing parents every day and dreamed of being a state trooper. leaves behind his parents and sister. spencer akers, american hero. thanks to our guests and most of

all to you for being with us. our prayers to heaven for little shaniya. see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp eastern. until then, good night, friend. . i'm brooke anderson and this is a "showbiz tonight" news brick at the top of the hour. hollywood at war over sarah palin and why hollywood is drawing a line in the sand over whether to support sarah. the great debate after johnny is named the sexiest man alive. why wasn't robert pattinson chosen? that's your news break.

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